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Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Originally Posted by polity4life

And you have become my favorite Cowboys fan.

Probably because I'm not in Dallas. Or even the US.

Originally Posted by polity4life

I can't think of a team that wouldn't take Murray. I keep forgetting about him and he is quality. And perhaps I was a bit hard on the wide receiving corps. I'll leave my opinion of Dez's eligibility to play this year out of the conversation, but I'm sure you can guess where I stand on the matter.

Dez and Miles are two good receivers that can get the ball when it's thrown in their general area. I just saw the highlights from the Chargers pre-season game and saw the catch at the back of the end zone by Dez. That was a spectacular catch, if only he'd have landed in bounds.
A very bad loss for the receiving corps in Dallas was when Laurent Robinson left. He played really well last season, but I don't blame him for moving on, since Miles and Dez are the two starters. Would have been nice to still have Robinson on the roster, though when/if either Dez or Miles goes down with an injury, as they have had a tendency to do the past few seasons.

Originally Posted by polity4life

Romo however is almost as over-rated as Roethlisberger in favor of Ben as he has and can win still. I won't bring up the record down the regular season stretch but he seems to make terrible errors at the worst times with enough frequency to raise eyebrows.

Romo is not as good as the press in Dallas seem to think, but he's still in, or hovering close to the top 10 starters in the league. Obviously below Rodgers, Brady, Brees and the Mannings, but still in the same general area as Roethlisberger, Rivers, Stafford, Newton, Schaub and Smith.

I agree that he makes silly mistakes at inopportune times, but a lot of that has to do with him trying to get something to happen when something needs to happen.

Originally Posted by polity4life

Let's take the game against the Lions last year.

I will admit again that I am a Detroit Lions fan. I was pleased as punch that the Lions came from behind in the fourth quarter to win. However, I would be absolutely dishonest if I said the Lions had any business winning that game. The Cowboys had that game locked and if not for the defense, namely the pass defense, and Romo throwing inopportune picks, Detroit would have had a very different season.

Ugh.. Don't remind me of that game. I watched it live, and it was brutal to see that collapse. Especially against the Lions.

Originally Posted by polity4life

I've wondered if coaching is a problem with the 'Boys. I think Rob Ryan is a bit of a blow-hard clown like his brother and isn't nearly as talented (of course I think Rex isn't that talented either, so that should be telling). What are the perceptions of the coaches in Dallas?

I have no idea what the feeling is of the coaches in Dallas. Since I live in Scotland, I tend to not read the local Dallas news, and obviously, the Cowboys home page won't say anything bad about them, so I don't know.

Originally Posted by Archonic Energy

Thanks KuReshtin, Chief Nerd-Hurder of the UKitP Clan.

Originally Posted by Teddy

KuReshtin too, because he's awesome and a Swede, and therefore double awesome.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Apparently the Seahawks are starting Russell Wilson against the Chiefs.

New World: What's it about? Fencing Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lot's of Bad Men. Lot's of Good Men., Two or Three Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles and a Little Sex. In short, it's about Pokemon.here

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

RE: Drinking the Kool Aid.

Take the area where I live for a counterpoint (reminder: I live near Cincinnati but I am not a Bengals fan). The local press are horrible bandwagon riders -- although there's an interesting twist to it.

When the Bengals are losing, Mike Brown (owner) gets beat upon horribly.

When the Bengals are winning, Marvin Lewis (coach) can do no wrong.

Now don't get me wrong, because Mikey Boy deserves at least half of the venom thrown his direction. The problem of course is that Saint Marvin also deserves a sizable portion of it, and the local sports people coat him in teflon. If I have to have that "Maybe he has a sub-50% win percentage because... he's not a winning coach?" conversation again, I'll get even balder.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Originally Posted by TheEmerged

RE: Drinking the Kool Aid.

Take the area where I live for a counterpoint (reminder: I live near Cincinnati but I am not a Bengals fan). The local press are horrible bandwagon riders -- although there's an interesting twist to it.

When the Bengals are losing, Mike Brown (owner) gets beat upon horribly.

When the Bengals are winning, Marvin Lewis (coach) can do no wrong.

Now don't get me wrong, because Mikey Boy deserves at least half of the venom thrown his direction. The problem of course is that Saint Marvin also deserves a sizable portion of it, and the local sports people coat him in teflon. If I have to have that "Maybe he has a sub-50% win percentage because... he's not a winning coach?" conversation again, I'll get even balder.

Cincinatti's second biggest problem has always been a shallow roster. When the Steelers broke Palmer, there was no real backup Qb available. When Johnson left because he wasn't getting enough spotlight, there was nobody to step into that WR slot.

Their biggest problem is being an AFC North team. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are always powerhouses, while Cleveland shows bouts of shocking semi-competence every so often. The crucial division games are always chancy. Of course, that applies in reverse as well. The Steelers and Ravens rarely go into a game against the Bengals that they can guarantee a win.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Originally Posted by grimbold

in philly they just beat on reid no matter what :P

They're also quick to find a team goat and relentlessly pound the poor guy. I'm of the opinion that replacing Vick with McNabb turned out to a horrible decision if for no other reason than the fanbase now has no one person to ritually burn in effigy at the completion of each year.

As an aside, I have to note that things have really come together for me this year. Unlike most NFL fans, I never learned my fandom from family or from geographic loyalty; my father wasn't a fan, and my hometown was somewhere between 800-1000 miles from the nearest franchise. So I quite literally became a fan of the first NFL team I watched when I saw the San Francisco 49ers play opening day of the 1990 season. Before you ask, no I did not become a fan because of Joe Montana. I became a fan because of Ronnie Lott. But because I was learning the game while I was watching my team, I became a fan of a type of play (smashmouth run-based play combined with stout defense) that was not at all what my team was associated with.

Flash forward twenty years and a grueling decade that really tried my loyalty to my team, and I finally have a winning squad that, lucky me, now plays the kind of football I love to watch. It's like a little special present from Jim Harbaugh to me for putting up with the Niners through all those years of flailing about.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Eh, I've got no real reason to complain; I've got Lions fans, and my team is looking good this season. Win or lose, I think the Green Bay - San Francisco opener is going to be a barn burner.

Let's go Packers! I hate hate hate hate HATE the 49ers.

Last edited by An Enemy Spy; 2012-08-27 at 02:00 PM.

New World: What's it about? Fencing Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lot's of Bad Men. Lot's of Good Men., Two or Three Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles and a Little Sex. In short, it's about Pokemon.here

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Originally Posted by McStabbington

Still miffed about the call on the Jerry Rice catch during the Catch II drive after all these years, I take it?

No. I wasn't really into fotball back then, and my Hawks weren't in the same division as the Niners at that time anyway. I just find them and their more vocal fans really annoying and obnoxious, not to mention arrogant. Other teams' fans will engage in the usual pregame ribbing, but SF fans always seem to to take it way too far. I refuse to banter with Niner fans now because they think highly personal insults and digs about another city's suicide rates are appropriate in a debate about sports.

Last edited by An Enemy Spy; 2012-08-27 at 11:11 PM.

New World: What's it about? Fencing Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lot's of Bad Men. Lot's of Good Men., Two or Three Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles and a Little Sex. In short, it's about Pokemon.here

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Originally Posted by An Enemy Spy

No. I wasn't really into fotball back then, and my Hawks weren't in the same division as the Niners at that time anyway. I just find them and their more vocal fans really annoying and obnoxious, not to mention arrogant. Other teams' fans will engage in the usual pregame ribbing, but SF fans always seem to to take it way too far. I refuse to banter with Niner fans now because they think highly personal insults and digs about another city's suicide rates are appropriate in a debate about sports.

Wow. Sorry to hear that man. For what it's worth, I apologize on behalf of Niner's Nation. It's been a long decade, but no amount of "oh, they just had an easy schedule last year" justifies that kind of talk.

Going forward, hopefully I can turn you around on the Niner's fanbase, and we can agree to work together . . . by hating on Dallas and the Giants.

Thin at WR but very deep at RB. I think I'm going to have to trade some of that depth, even a starter, to nab up a quality WR. Oh, and the flex in this league is WR/TE. All rounds save for the 1st and 2nd saw either a good RB or a reach at WR.

Thoughts?

Demonlobster.com because we both know that you know that I know that you like fun!

I need to do a bit of cleaning up and trying to find a few replacements (like a better backup QB) but since I haven't really followed the pre-season a whole lot so far, i'm not sure what to think.
I seem to have a few untested players on my team. Couple of rookies in there.

Originally Posted by Archonic Energy

Thanks KuReshtin, Chief Nerd-Hurder of the UKitP Clan.

Originally Posted by Teddy

KuReshtin too, because he's awesome and a Swede, and therefore double awesome.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Rookies aren't bad. Rookie WRs, however, are the biggest gamble. I nabbed Blackmon in the 11th or 12th so I figured it was a low-risk, high-reward pick. However, he likely won't help my very thin WR corps. All of my WR targets were picked a bit earlier than I had experienced in mocks. And for some reason, someone picked Toby Gerhart in the sixth, preventing me from locking up Peterson.

You have a nice team. Carson will do just fine for the one week you need him. Just keep an eye on the waiver wire for a streaking QB if you're uncomfortable with him. Your RBs are your weak suit but someone sitting ontop the trash heap always gets hot and will be available on the waiver wire.

Last edited by polity4life; 2012-08-28 at 07:37 AM.

Demonlobster.com because we both know that you know that I know that you like fun!

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Originally Posted by polity4life

Rookies aren't bad. Rookie WRs, however, are the biggest gamble. I nabbed Blackmon in the 11th or 12th so I figured it was a low-risk, high-reward pick. However, he likely won't help my very thin WR corps. All of my WR targets were picked a bit earlier than I had experienced in mocks. And for some reason, someone picked Toby Gerhart in the sixth, preventing me from locking up Peterson.

You have a nice team. Carson will do just fine for the one week you need him. Just keep an eye on the waiver wire for a streaking QB if you're uncomfortable with him. Your RBs are your weak suit but someone sitting ontop the trash heap always gets hot and will be available on the waiver wire.

That's how I won our fantasy league last year.. I sat around, waiting for people to drop some players that i could then pick up just as they hit their hot streak.
Michael Bush (OAK RB) and Laurent Robinson (DAL WR), to name two of them.

Originally Posted by Archonic Energy

Thanks KuReshtin, Chief Nerd-Hurder of the UKitP Clan.

Originally Posted by Teddy

KuReshtin too, because he's awesome and a Swede, and therefore double awesome.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Going forward, hopefully I can turn you around on the Niner's fanbase, and we can agree to work together . . . by hating on Dallas and the Giants.

There's a degree of thuggishness in the fandom of most teams, I'm afraid.

On the other hand, my longstanding statement is that "My three favorite teams are the Patriots, the Eagles, and whoever is playing Dallas this week."

Originally Posted by polity4life

You have a nice team. Carson will do just fine for the one week you need him. Just keep an eye on the waiver wire for a streaking QB if you're uncomfortable with him. Your RBs are your weak suit but someone sitting ontop the trash heap always gets hot and will be available on the waiver wire.

Looks like I won't get to do a fantasy team again this year. Everybody locally wants to play for money and that's uncomfortably close to gambling for me.

Mentioning Carson does bring back memories though. His first year playing (second in his career) I was in a league that was doing one of those computerized drafts where you make a long list of who you want in the order you want them, and the computer runs the draft (and I *hate* that method, for the record). I got Carson as my lone QB pick in the second round, then scrambled for someone undrafted for his bye week. Carson of course burned up the stat sheets that year and I lost in the finals that year.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Originally Posted by KuReshtin

My (first) fantasy team turned out like this after the draft:
I need to do a bit of cleaning up and trying to find a few replacements (like a better backup QB) but since I haven't really followed the pre-season a whole lot so far, i'm not sure what to think.
I seem to have a few untested players on my team. Couple of rookies in there.

I can only speak with absolute authority on the Niners and the NFC West, but I'll highlight a potential problem you've got with your backfield. Namely, Gore and Hunter don't replace one another so much as complement one another. Gore is a bruising runner between the tackles, but being the offense for the Niners for eight years has ground him down. Just to keep his legs healthy for later in the season/playoffs, the Niners don't allow the guy more than 20 touches a game any more. So we bring in backs like Hunter and James to do the stuff that requires more running: off-tackle runs, screens and checkdown throws. The result, while great for our offense, is bad for both players fantasy football stats because every run one player gets effectively reduces the touches the other could have had.

Trent Richardson is, imo, a good choice, although he's going to be running six times into a Ravens, Steelers and Bengals D that all looked pretty good last year. Beyond that, I can only say that I like the choice of the Seahawks D. They were actually a top-ten defense last year (8th, IIRC) that is often kind of lost in the shuffle because they play in a division typically seen as terrible. But their secondary is very good and they did good work recruiting a young pass rusher to fix their only real hole from last season. Although there may be units that are situationally better from week to week, that's a good every-week team D.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Originally Posted by McStabbington

I can only speak with absolute authority on the Niners and the NFC West, but I'll highlight a potential problem you've got with your backfield. Namely, Gore and Hunter don't replace one another so much as complement one another. Gore is a bruising runner between the tackles, but being the offense for the Niners for eight years has ground him down. Just to keep his legs healthy for later in the season/playoffs, the Niners don't allow the guy more than 20 touches a game any more. So we bring in backs like Hunter and James to do the stuff that requires more running: off-tackle runs, screens and checkdown throws. The result, while great for our offense, is bad for both players fantasy football stats because every run one player gets effectively reduces the touches the other could have had.

Trent Richardson is, imo, a good choice, although he's going to be running six times into a Ravens, Steelers and Bengals D that all looked pretty good last year. Beyond that, I can only say that I like the choice of the Seahawks D. They were actually a top-ten defense last year (8th, IIRC) that is often kind of lost in the shuffle because they play in a division typically seen as terrible. But their secondary is very good and they did good work recruiting a young pass rusher to fix their only real hole from last season. Although there may be units that are situationally better from week to week, that's a good every-week team D.

I can't take any of the credit for the team I have at the moment.
It was an automated draft as most of the guys in the league were otherwise engaged while the draft took place.
The league is one between the British American Football Referees Association members, and almost all of us were at the British National Finals this weekend, officiating games.

So, the team I have right now is the result of the automated draft.

I wasn't actually sure about the seahawks defense, but after your analysis, I think I'll keep them around for a bit to see how they do. Maybe pick up a backup D to use for those weeks where there's an unfavourable matchup for the Seahawks.

Originally Posted by Archonic Energy

Thanks KuReshtin, Chief Nerd-Hurder of the UKitP Clan.

Originally Posted by Teddy

KuReshtin too, because he's awesome and a Swede, and therefore double awesome.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

So what are your predictionsw for your team? My (very realistic) expectations for my Seahawks is a 20-0 season, just like every year (the twentieth game is the pro bowl, where they will have no choice but to vote a Seahawks player for every position on the NFC squad).

New World: What's it about? Fencing Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lot's of Bad Men. Lot's of Good Men., Two or Three Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles and a Little Sex. In short, it's about Pokemon.here

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

11-5 for the Niners, give or take a game. I also think they're going to take the NFC West title again this year. No offense to the Seahawks, but Russell Wilson + whatever they've got for receivers just doesn't sound like a good tandem with Beast Mode to me. Without a passing game, I just don't think you'll be able to beat our defense.

Although if anyone in our division has a shot at a wild card berth, it would be the Hawks. The Cards have no offensive line this year.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Isn't Beast Mode going to be suspended for a few games? I imagine he has to be at this point as this DUI isn't a first time offense.

Regardless, the Niners have the NFC West. No one in that division will usurp the throne there. That largely won't matter though since the Niners aren't going to take the NFC. The Detroit Lions have that honor.

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

Originally Posted by polity4life

Isn't Beast Mode going to be suspended for a few games? I imagine he has to be at this point as this DUI isn't a first time offense.

Regardless, the Niners have the NFC West. No one in that division will usurp the throne there. That largely won't matter though since the Niners aren't going to take the NFC. The Detroit Lions have that honor.

From what I understand, a suspension is rather unlikely at this point, so I would say that it wouldn't be a factor this season.

New World: What's it about? Fencing Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lot's of Bad Men. Lot's of Good Men., Two or Three Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles and a Little Sex. In short, it's about Pokemon.here

Re: NFL (pronounced Niffle) Thread.

A 25 year old man died at the Texans-Vikings game last night after falling off a railing.

New World: What's it about? Fencing Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lot's of Bad Men. Lot's of Good Men., Two or Three Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles and a Little Sex. In short, it's about Pokemon.here